The subject matter described herein relates generally to heat exchanger tubes and, more particularly, to heat exchanger tubes including internal three-dimensional flow features.
Heat exchanger tubes carrying a fluid having a thermal energy content are ubiquitous in a variety of electrical and mechanical systems. For example, heat exchanger tubes may be used in heat exchangers, electrical machines, motors, and/or generators. At least some heat exchanger tubes include flow features to improve heat transfer and/or hydraulic performance. However, in at least some known systems, these flow features are generated using an extrusion process, and accordingly, are limited to two-dimensional flow features. These two-dimensional flow features may provide only limited improvements to heat transfer and/or hydraulic performance, especially at bends or turns in a heat exchanger tube. Other flow features with more complex geometries may be better suited to improving heat transfer and/or hydraulic performance, but may be relatively difficult to fabricate.